General Brice Nguema, ousted President Ali Bongo’s cousin, sworn in on Monday, says Gabonse will have the chance to hope under his regime, promising a free and fair election.

In his speech after his swearing-in, Mr Nguema said his government is “made up of experienced people.”

“With the new government, made up of experienced people, we’re going to give everyone a chance to hope,” Mr Nguema said. 

He also promised to “preserve the achievements of democracy,” free and fair elections, and amnesty for prisoners of conscience in the country. 

However, he did not specify when his regime would restore civilian rule in Gabon.

Last Friday, Mr Nguema said he was not in a hurry to restore civilian rule in Gabon.

Though Gabonese celebrated the Nguema-led coup, with many saying it ended the 56-year reign of the Bongos dynasty, the opposition party candidate claimed victory in the August 26 election, dismissing the coup as a “family affair.” 

“The electoral process must be brought to a conclusion, and the results must be announced so that I can become the legitimate president and then the legal president once they have been validated by the Constitutional Court,” Albert Ondo Ossa, Alternance 2023 candidate, said in an exclusive interview with Le Monde.

Mr Nguema, 48, led the mutineers to topple Mr Bongo’s government on Wednesday, shortly after the president was declared winner of the controversial election that would see him stay in office for the third term.

An active figure in the Gabonese military that perpetuated the Bongos’ dynasty, Mr Nguema served as aide-de-camp to a commander in former President Omar Bongo’s Republican Guard until 2009. 

Mr Bongo, after taking over the reins of power, sent Mr Nguema on a diplomatic mission to Morocco and Senegal. In 2019, he replaced the president’s step-brother as head of Gabon’s Republican Guard, an elite force protecting Mr Bongo, his family and other high-profile figures.